Skip to content

Public Library returns to pre-COVID hours; stuffed animal slumber party March 10-13

The Moose Jaw Public Library (MJPL) will have evening hours again starting March 14. It has been two years since the library reduced its hours in response to the pandemic
public library winter
Moose Jaw Public Library (staff photo)

The Moose Jaw Public Library (MJPL) will have evening hours again starting March 14. It has been two years since the library reduced its hours in response to the pandemic.

“Starting March 14, we’re going back to regular hours,” said Naiomi Setter at the MJPL. “We’ll be open evenings. So that’s exciting, we haven’t had evening hours since COVID hit.”

The library’s new hours will be:

  • Monday to Thursday – 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Friday and Saturday – 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Sundays – 1:00 p.m. to 5 p.m.

One Book, One Province

March is Saskatchewan’s One Book, One Province month, which aims to increase literacy in the province and help create a reading culture. Once a year, the Saskatchewan Library Association highlights a single book they hope as many people as possible will read.

There will also be community and local library events throughout the province, including two virtual cooking classes hosted by Schoolhaus Culinary Arts in Regina. The classes will be on Zoom on Thursday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m.; and on Thursday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m.

To register for the classes, find them on the Regina Public Library programs page at reginalibrary.ca/attend/programs.

This year’s book is Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead: Recipes and Recollections from a Syrian Pioneer by Habeeb Salloum. It has recipes interwoven with a memoir of growing up on a Saskatchewan farm as the son of Syrian immigrants.

Habeeb Salloum (9 March 1924 to 4 Dec. 2019) was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, and had a 36-year with the department of national revenue.

He was also a prolific author and freelance writer who wrote at least 2,000 articles on food, history, and travel. Salloum authored or co-authored 14 books and 20 chapters in various books.

Some of Saskatchewan’s most important pulse crops, such as lentils and chickpeas, were first grown by Syrian homesteaders who used them to survive the 1930s dustbowl. Salloum wrote that “today people stare in disbelief when they hear that Arabs homesteaded in Western Canada.”

Moose Jaw Public Library March programs

Among other events at the library in March is a children’s stuffed animal slumber party from March 10 to March 13.

Drop off a stuffed animal on either March 10 or 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and staff will post pictures of your pal’s adventures with library mascot Marty the Monkey on Facebook.

Pick-up is on March 13 from 1 to 5:00 p.m.

“So Marty the Monkey is hosting a slumber party for any stuffed animal kids want to drop off,” Setter explained. “And we’ll take some pictures with them and share those with the kids, and they’ll get a free book when they pick up their stuffed animal.”

Adult programming (in-person; masks required for some programs)

  • Avid Knitters – Tuesdays, March 1, 15, and 29 at 2:30 p.m.
  • Brain Games – Thursday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m.
  • MJPL Book Club: Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom – Wednesday, March 9 at 2:30 p.m.
  • Magic the Gathering – Saturdays, March 12 and 26 at 2:00 p.m.
  • MJPL Movie Club: Last Night in Soho by director Edgar Wright – Monday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. with discussion to follow at 8:00 p.m.
  • Purely Canadian Book Club: Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson – Thursday, March 17 at 2:30 p.m.
  • Making funeral plans, with Michelle Ellis, owner of Moose Jaw Funeral Home – Thursday, March 31 at 2:30 p.m.

Youth programming

  • Teen Take ‘N Make series: Perler Pals – (ages 12 to 19) March 1 through 31, while supplies last
  • Teen digital Dungeons and Dragons on Discord – (ages 13 to 19) Fridays, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. For more info and to register, email youth@moosejawlibrary.ca.
  • Teen Anime Club on Discord: watch Weathering With You (2019) – (ages 13 to 19) Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. Library Discord server is at discord.gg/Has8rff
  • Teen eBook Club on Discord: Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin – Tuesday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m.

Children’s programming

  • Children’s Take N’ Make series – (ages 4+)
    • March 2 to 15: Rainbow Shamrock
    • March 16 to 29: Truffula Tree
    • March 30 to April 12: Rainbow Fish
  • Facebook Live Storytime (virtual) with Miss Aislinn and Marty the Monkey – (ages 2 to 5) Tuesdays, March 8 to April 12 at 10:30 a.m.
  • Preschool Storytime – (ages 2+, indoors, masks required) Wednesdays, March 9 to April 13 at 10:30 a.m. Please register each adult and child wanting to attend
  • Slumber Party with Marty – drop-off March 10 or 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; pick-up March 13 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • Scientists in School! (virtual) – email alawreniuk@moosejawlibrary.ca or call the library as early as possible to register and get information regarding kits
    • Spread Your Wings! – Saturday, March 12 at 10:30 a.m.
    • Investigate It! – Saturday, March 26 at 10:30 a.m.
push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks